Guest post by Alain Glaeser.
Word-of-mouth advertising has always played a powerful role in both consumer and B2B buying decisions. But social media, review sites, and influencer marketing have exponentially amplified the voices of customers.
Buyers now rely less on information provided by suppliers and industry analysts, and more on what they find about your brand through reviews and other online sources.
According to Gartner, B2B buyers today spend only 5% or 6% of their time with sales reps while comparing multiple suppliers. Gartner also found that when B2B buyers are making purchase decisions, they spend most of their time independently researching the brand online.